Living on a Budget:
My sister asked me to write this, and though we do live on a budget I feel inadequate to explain how we do it. First let me say that we have grown into this way of living. We graduated college with debt and both went to grad school (more debt). While we were both working, we did pay off all of our college loans, but we didn’t have a lot of money saved before we started having kids. So now we were living on one salary and really wanted to buy a house, which requires a nice savings account. It really wasn’t until we were at that point that we took “living on a budget” seriously. It wasn’t as if we lived luxuriously before, but we bought what we thought we needed (or wanted) and if we couldn’t afford it, it went on the credit card. Our credit card usually carried a balance of a couple thousand dollars. We would pay it off with our tax refund and start racketing up debt again. I’m telling you this so you understand that we didn’t (and still don’t) have “living on a budget thing” mastered.
The first step is painful, but necessary . . . live within your means. That means that you only spend what you currently have to money to spend. We do still use credit cards, but only for our budgeted expenses. For example, I have $100 to spend at the grocery store each week. If what I want goes beyond $100, I have to put something back or pay for it in cash. Now my cash is limited and I hate to spend it at the food store, so I seriously consider whether we NEED something before going over $100. When I consider that we spend less now on food for our family of 8, than we did for our family of 2, I realize that we were buying things that we didn’t need. You may be thinking our children are starving or living on Ramon Noodles, let me assure you they are quite healthy. Here are a few suggestions that have helped me stay on budget with food shopping.
- Buy store brands. I have found that even with a coupon I end up spending more on name brands than store brands (or buying more than I wanted for the coupon to be valid).
- Make things from scratch. Most days our snack is homemade popcorn and smoothies. At least once a week I make cookies or brownies. I make muffins and granola bars for the kid’s lunches. Homemade yogurt serves for breakfast and snacks. My mom lives near an orchard and gets apples when they are really cheap, so I make tons of apple sauce. Usually I just buy Shoprite pretzels as additional snack food.
- Shop sales (and plan your meals around what is on sale.) I actually make my shopping list on line. If you sign in through the “shop from home” section you can see exactly how much things cost. You can also view the circular which has all of the sales. It is easy to add items to your list that way, and when you get to the store and see the sales you won’t be tempted to buy something just because it is on sale. You can make these decisions, while looking at your total. I print this list and take it with me when I shop.
- Eat less meat. We do not eat meat every day. We eat eggs, beans, nuts and dairy for additional protein. Some nights we eat soup and rolls for dinner, or pasta with veggies. Our slogan on those nights is, “Fill up on the bread.”
- Drink more water. I buy a few bottles of 100% juice for my little ones, but I dilute their juice over 50% with water. We drink water or milk with our meals. The kids bring water in their lunches for school.
- Shop in bulk at BJs or Costco. You have to be careful, because not everything is cheaper there and it is easy to spend more than you can afford because everything is bigger. We also have a budgeted amount for bulk items that we don’t go over. Sometimes that means if we need diaper and wipes in the same month we may have to go without as much cereal that month. Diapers and milk are definitely cheaper there and since we’ve been diapering for 12 years and we drink a gallon of milk a day, it’s worth the 50$ membership fee. My husband estimated that we save about $150 a year just in getting our milk at BJs.
- Look for discount stores in your area. I found a bread store near me that sells wheat bread for a dollar a loaf. The bread is past the date that stores can sell it, but the bread is still fine, it just has a shorter shelf life. I freeze the bread and we take out the loaves as we need them. I also found a farmer’s market that stays open year round. They have great prices on their produce.
- Shopping with kids: I would say, leave them home, but since that has never worked for me I have learned to shop with the kids. My children know that they are not allowed to ask for items. I have everything we need carefully budgeted. If I decide to buy something that is not on the list, than I have to put something back that I had planned on buying. Most of the things the kids want are not necessary or do not fit within my budget. I pack them a snack to eat while we shop and we get the free store cookie before check out (if they behave properly). If not, we all listen to them cry at check out. Yes, I have been that mom many times. Eventually, they learn and shopping with kids is quite painless.
Some other ideas for living on a budget include:
- Avoid fast food. My kids like Tuesday’s because Ikea serves free food for kids under 12 on Tuesday, so that is their only chance at fast food. Occasionally we will order in a pizza or stop to get dollar burgers. By occasionally, I mean a few times a year. Eating out doesn’t work if you are trying to stay on a budget. Before we had kids, we would stop at Dunkin Donuts and get our coffee on the way to work. Now we make it at home and bring it in a thermos. It adds up over time when you spend a couple dollars every day on unnecessary items.
- Ask God for wisdom. When I am going shopping, I pray for wisdom. I can tell you from firsthand experience, when you are truly relying on God for wisdom in your finances, He blesses that. I believe that God fills up our oil and flour jar, as he did for the widow in the Bible that made bread for Elijah. We have never gone hungry, ever! We have never gone without clothes or shelter or a car or any of the things we need (though they may not be all the things we want). If I need a clothing item for one of the kids, I pray before I go shopping, that I will find the best deal on that item. God is faithful in helping me.
- Make sacrifices now and keep your eye on the big picture. If you are serious about getting out of debt or in a better financial spot, you will have to make sacrifices for the present. But they will be worth it in the long run, when you reach your goal. It took us 7 years of saving before we were able to buy a house. Let me tell you there was a lot of sacrifice in those years, and still is. Our clothes are not new. We love hand-me downs. I use a trac-phone instead of a smart phone. We don’t have cable. We drive old cars. We pack our lunches when we go out. Those are just a few of our “sacrifices”, but our bigger goal of owning a house and sending our kids to private school has come true.
- Find free entertainment and fun. July 11th is free slurpee day at 7’11. The first day of spring is free cone day at Rita’s. Ben and Jerry have a free cone day in March as well. I love to find free days at museums or attractions. You can sign the kids up for “Kids Bowl Free” in the summer (though you do have to pay for their shoes). We go “Letter-boxing” as a family a lot. It’s free and great exercise. Look in your area for a bargain.
- Think ahead! I remember the first time I realized I had no seasonally appropriate clothing for my first born. All of the shower gifts were for her first year and as summer turned to fall I had nothing to keep her warm. It killed me to pay full price for warm sweatshirts and pajamas. Now I try to have a few dollars each month saved for finding clearance items for the future so that doesn’t happen again. Scoop up next summer’s wardrobe for your baby in July when everything is $2. Think of next Christmas in January when wrapping paper is 80% off. Better yet, grab the snow gear. That stuff is pricey full price. Also, consider red paper products on clearance. You can use them for Valentine’s Day or the Fourth of July. After the Superbowl I always look for football paper product for my boy’s birthdays. If I find a nice gift idea on sale, I buy it and save it for when the kids have a birthday party to go to. Try to think ahead as much as possible so that you are not left in a bind and tempted to use the credit card. Buy the things you need first and then see what’s left before you buy something you want.